Every Edinburgh fringe throws up an unlikely cult hit, and this year it’s Funz and Gamez, an anarchic children’s show that’s simultaneously for the kids, and aimed directly over their heads. Spoof infant entertainment isn’t new: Justin Edwards made hay with the idea as dyspeptic clown Jeremy Lion. But children weren’t admitted to that show, whereas here they’re in the audience and onstage, shooting water pistols and bombarding a crappy elf with sponge balls. Little do they know that their hosts are variously a rat-arsed uncle, a pissed-off out-of-work actor and a recovering divorcee who’s turned to kids’ entertainment to make a fast buck.

All are played by comedians, and there are plenty in the mainly adult crowd too, laughing uproariously – because Funz and Gamez pulverises the protocols on how to behave responsibly around children. When something inappropriate happens – roughly every 15 seconds – compere Phil Ellis plies the tots with sweets to soften the blow. When the kids are invited onstage for “gamez”, Ellis makes sure he always wins – trouncing a six-year-old at an arm wrestle, and parping air from a balloon directly into kiddies’ faces to settle the who-blinks-first challenge. Oh, and by the way, “life lesson number two – losers get nothing”. Except a souvenir T-shirt they’ll never be allowed to wear in public.

The laughs often spring from the innocence of the children’s response. But if that sounds exploitative – well, the show’s so silly, and so permissive, the littl’uns are always having as much fun as we are. Funz and Gamez offers a real provocation to “suitable for children” norms, as Ellis dispatches pessimistic life advice (“don’t ask for a dog when you’re seven, cos you’ll lose it when you’re doing your A-levels”), and violent Uncle Mick summons mummies and daddies onstage to stuff their mouths full of marshmallows. At that, the kids positively jump for joy. And so do the comedy fans – it’s a uniquely funny show.